Saturday, July 14, 2012

"Exchanging lighthearted fare for darker subject matter, films like The Dark Knight Rises
and graphic novels by authors such as Chris Ware show that comics can
have immense appeal for adults," read the groundbreaking article, making
an astute and truly mind-blowing observation that had only been made
84,999 times before.

Just about then, something very loud began thumping through the floor.
It seemed to be coming from the convention center’s Hall H, where
Lionsgate was prepping for its presentation of “The Expendables 2,” a
thought-free action film filled with mayhem, starring Sylvester Stallone
and Arnold Schwarzenegger

And, finally, it sounded like fun.

This entire article implicitly equates "comics" with "mindless, escapist fare that isn't worth thinking about in any way." The writer -- and he is not alone, to be sure -- seems unable to grasp the concept that, for some people, analysis can in fact be an act of appreciation and enjoyment.

It says something about the level of research and thought involved that the one thing that sums up what Comic-Con "really" should be about has nothing to do with comics. Bonus points for the visual-rhetorical flourish for illustrating an article primarily about comics scholarship with a photo of a Superman cosplayer.

(Photo credit: Denis Poroy/Invision, via Associated Press. Note: There's nothing wrong with the photo itself, and the costume is actually quite well done. It just doesn't serve any purpose with this article except as an attempt to trivialize the article's subject matter.)

Art Spiegelman doesn't draw comics. It might be clever to say he draws tragics, but that would be inaccurate too. Like its predecessor, "Maus: A Survivor's Tale II. And Here My Troubles Began" is a serious form of pictorial literature, sustaining and even intensifying the power of the first volume. It resists defining labels.

If one is at first glance tempted to dismiss Alison Bechdel’s “Are You My Mother?” as a glorified comic strip, one would be wildly and woefully misguided: it is as complicated, brainy, inventive and satisfying as the finest prose memoirs.